Global Recipe Project

With all the gluttony these last few days, I couldn't bring myself to make chivos (those amazingly-enormous-meat-lover sandwiches).  So, instead I made Dulce de leche. And, because I live with a french man, we ate the gooey goodness slathered on slices of bread. Delicious. Rating: 7 out of 10. Tony: I can't really say why I gave it a 7 but it lacked a certain....definitiveness. Dulce de Leche (version Uruguay) 250g sugar  (1 1/4 cups) 1 liter milk (1 quart plus 4 tbsp) 1/4 tsp baking soda 1 tsp vanilla extract This recipe will make roughly 1 cup of dulce de leche.  (I know, that sounds absurd but it's true, it boils down to practically nothing. So, if you want more adjust the recipe accordingly.) Bring the milk to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the rest of the ingredients.  Continue stirring occasionally until the mixture begins to thicken.  Continue cooking and stirring using a wire whisk until it becomes a beautiful auburn color...

We're traveling back to Africa tonight to visit the war torn country of Sudan. So, we're dedicating the meal to peace and security in this African nation. Since the weather is finally cooling down, and I can justify making a wintery dish, we're having Shorbet Ads or lentil soup. I have always been a fan of lentils and this dish did not disappoint.  I followed the recipe exactly which meant that I needed to find the red lentils it calls for (no $.99 bag of those traditional green lentils for me). I located them in a local Ralphs grocery store in the international food aisle.  They were ridiculously expensive but I really did not have a choice. Anyway, they're a great little legume that cooks exceptionally fast and has a beautiful golden color. The recipe was adapted from www.sudan.net/society/recipe.html  and The African Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania - Sudan: Menus & Recipes From Africa. Ingredients 2 cups Ads Magroosh (split red l...

We're heading down to South America and we're making Chicken Curry, Baigan Choka and Roti ! Fresh bread is amazing. Fresh fry bread is especially amazing. I would recommend roti for almost any meal; seriously. It was relatively easy to make and the total rising time was a meager 60 minutes. I looked at many recipes and they were always slightly different. I found the most help through the Trini Gourmet site The chicken curry was....okay.  Potentially there were some flaws in the recipe or flaws in my attentiveness to the recipe but nonetheless I wasn't impressed.  I wouldn't make it again. It was mushy and pasty and not at all saucy. Roti deserves a great sauce. This chicken curry didn't deliver anything of the sort. Baigan Choka taught me that I don't really like eggplant. Who knew?  Roti Rating: 9 out of 10 Chicken Curry Rating: 3 out of 10 Baigan Choka Rating: 1 out of 10

I am so excited to get to Middle Eastern Country.  Oh the spices! The national dish is Machbous with is basically a tomato and onion sauce cooked with whatever protein you have (fish, chicken, lamb etc.) I chose fish because I haven't had a fish recipe yet and I was hungry for some Omega-3s. The recipe calls for 9 spices, 3 of which I didn't have in my kitchen so I made a little trip to the local World Market. (Yes, I wish I could have gone to some small ethnic shop where the "locals" buy their food, but alas I didn't find anything in a 20 mile radius.) The recipe I followed was from a fellow food blogger and around-the-world recipe challenger.  Here it is. Rating: 7.5 out of 10. The spices were intriguing but I think it calls for a bit more salt to truly bring out all the flavors.

Micronesia is a federation of small islands that includes Guam, Wake Island, Marshall Island and a few others. There doesn't appear to be a distinctly "Micronesian Cuisine" but there are some notable dishes from the individual islands. I chose Chicken Kelaguen which comes to us from Guam.  The dish is found anywhere you can find Guamanians, they love it and I do too. To be classified as "authentic" one must make the finadene marinade and BBQ the chicken after it has marinated overnight. (Some sources say to use a store bought rotisserie chicken and recommended Costco.--Yeah, I love that chicken too, but last time I checked, there were no Costcos in Micronesia.) Finadene 1 cup soy sauce 1 cup lemon juice 1 bunch of green onions (chopped) 5 hot red peppers (I used dried peppers) Chicken Kelaguen Naan bread (lightly grilled) 1 whole chicken 1/4 cup lemon juice 1 coconut 1 bunch green onions (chopped) 5 hot red peppers (chopped) salt and peppe...

This fourth largest island in the world is up next and so is the national dish romazava over rice. Depending on how the rice cooking goes I may also have Ranonapango (burnt rice drink). Some French family friends went to Madagascar in 2009 and loved it. Since then I've had a secret crush on the island country.   Ranonapango Rating: 3 out of 10. "This takes some getting used to."--Tony. I, however, actually enjoyed the idea of this drink. It's resourceful and you get a flavored drinkable water . (This is very important due to the water concerns on the island and the need to boil just about any liquid you put in your mouth.) Romazava Rating 8 out of 10. Looked awful, smelled reasonably acceptable but tasted wonderful. For an interesting read of most things Malagasy, check out the great blog called, Don't Feed the Lemurs . Ranonapango   1.5 cup of rice 3 cups of water Rinse the rice and set aside. Bring the water to a boil and throw in the rice. Sim...

Since I recently returned from a trip to Nicaragua, I've been hoping a Latin American country would be picked soon from the jar. Luckily Tony managed to pull El Salvador. Dinner: Pupusa con queso y curtido Pupusas are tortillas stuffed with whatever filling you have in the kitchen. I filled mine with queso fresco and green chilies. On the side we had curtido (a cabbage slaw made with vinegar) and black beans. Heidi's Rating: 8 out of 10 [This dish made me feel like I was picking up food on the streets of San Salvador...something your abuelita would make as an afternoon snack.] Tony's Rating: 3 out of 10 ["I'm not excited by this." --The dear husband has enjoyed the journey because of all the newness and intriguing flavors. This dish did not have bizarre spices but instead familiar textures and flavors to Mexican recipes we so enjoy frequently in the Southern California desert.]